The Palermo Stone: the Other Important Egyptian Stone Tablet

Though far less known than the famous Rosetta Stone, the Palermo Stone is no less significant, and in fact, reveals far more than its more celebrated stone cousin.  Essentially, the Palermo Stone is the oldest known history book of Egypt following the unification of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt.  Named for the museum in which it is housed, the Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Italy, this basalt fragment, which was engraved toward the end of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th Century BCE, provides records of the kings of Egypt from the First Dynasty through the Fifth Dynasty, a list of what is thought to be the mythical kings prior to the dynastic era, as well as information on cult ceremonies, sculpture, taxation, buildings, and public warfare.  Read more . . .